Devin Williams wants to add his name to the list of great Yankee closers.
The right-hander, acquired in a trade from Milwaukee last week, listed Mariano Rivera and Aroldis Chapman as examples of “the best of the best” who have finished games in The Bronx.
Though Williams arguably has been the most dominant closer in the game over the past two seasons when healthy, his brief experience of pitching in October has not gone well.
He struggled in two of three postseason appearances during 2023 and ’24, most notably when he allowed Pete Alonso’s go-ahead homer in the Mets’ decisive Game 3 win in the wild-card round this year.
“We’re all aware of how things turned out this year,” Williams said of the Alonso homer during an introductory Zoom call on Tuesday. “I wish things turned out differently. I’ll put myself in that situation every time. I’ll never shy away from that moment. I want the ball. I’m looking forward to my next opportunity.”
He also pointed to the fact he’s only thrown three postseason innings.
“I haven’t had that much opportunity,’’ Williams said.
The Yankees plan on that changing and will hope he looks more like Rivera than Chapman if they get back to October, with the 30-year-old Williams — picked up in exchange for Nestor Cortes and minor league infielder Caleb Durbin — now set to anchor the back of the bullpen.
It’s a challenge Williams said he was eagerly anticipating following the trade.
The move out of Milwaukee was not a surprise, with Williams saying, “As someone that’s been there the last six years, I understand that’s how they operate. I kind of expected it.”
Instead, Williams — due to be a free agent following this season — landed with the Yankees. When asked about a potential extension, he said: “If it’s right for both sides, that’s definitely an option. Nothing’s been discussed.”
Williams initially believed he’d be shipped to the Dodgers based on rumors he’d heard before ending up in New York, where he’ll bring his dominating changeup — a pitch he helped perfect in spring training in 2019 against Trent Grisham when they were teammates with the Brewers.
Having always used the pitch effectively, Williams said he first switched from a two-seam to a four-seam change during a spring at-bat versus Grisham, now a Yankees outfielder.
“He said he could see the difference in the spin,’’ Williams said.
Prior to the 2020 season, Williams used the time off due to COVID to refine the pitch more.
“It became my out-pitch, my go-to,’’ Williams said. “I was still throwing it 88-89 mph, and during COVID at home during live at-bats, I started to realize if I spun it more and threw it slower, I got way more movement and it was a much better pitch.”
The tweaks helped Williams turn into a huge weapon for the Brewers.
His strikeout rate has soared beginning in the 2020 season and he had a whiff rate of 48.8 percent with his changeup last season, according to Baseball Savant, the best of his career.
He was limited to 21 ²/₃ innings last season, but no one who pitched more than 20 innings struck out batters at a higher rate. And that came after three straight superb seasons in Milwaukee.
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It’s that swing-and-miss stuff that appealed to the Yankees in pairing Williams with their breakout star from last season, Luke Weaver.
Williams pitched just 22 games last season. He was shut down for six weeks and missed the first half of the year with stress fractures in his back.
He said Tuesday he’s had no issues with the back since he returned to action in the middle of last year. He’s confident the added spotlight of pitching for the Yankees will serve him well.
Williams spent 10 days in the city following this past season, touring museums and restaurants.
His next stop will be the spotlight of the Stadium.
“I think it will be good for me,’’ Williams said. “I thrive off the energy. I can feed off the fans.”
And he hopes that goes into the playoffs after last season’s disappointment.
“The way my mind works, every failure I’ve ever had has stuck with me, but it’s not something that holds me back,’’ Williams said. “If anything, it pushes me forward. Every time I’ve failed, I want to get back on the mound.”
